Institut für ökologische Chemie, Pflanzenanalytik und Vorratsschutz
Most German organic fruit farms focus on apples with a few main varieties and are therefore heavily dependent on the input of external resources, especially plant protection products, and are very susceptible to disruptive factors caused by climate change. The aim of the project is to develop regionally adapted strategies in a participatory process involving the entire value chain and in all major fruit-growing regions to increase the resilience of farms through less input-dependent cultivation and a greater diversity of robust apple varieties and pears, and possibly also apricots. In the area of apple varieties in particular, the market provides very contradictory incentives. Club concepts are increasingly leading to greater dependency on farms and exclude certain types of farms that are not associated with the appropriate marketing structures. In order to implement the strategies developed, an umbrella brand concept is therefore to be developed in cooperation with partners along the entire value chain in terms of content and expertise, which is open to all farms and enables a diversity of varieties on the farm. Strategies for improved soil and water management, the increased use of functional biodiversity and the optimisation of overall ecosystem services will also be developed. In addition, a ‘resilience check’ is to be integrated into the ZBG's farm comparison 4.0 based on the project results and a farm survey on current and planned future strategies for greater resilience.Knowledge of the side effects of plant protection products is a key tool for an optimised strategy that protects beneficial organisms. However, this information is currently only available to a limited extent and is sometimes contradictory. One possible reason for this is that the effects are tested and evaluated in laboratory tests using standard animal species, for example, some of which are not relevant in fruit growing. The aim is therefore to compile existing knowledge and analyze it with regard to its usability for fruit growing. Knowledge of existing beneficial organisms in the crop is also essential in order to favor agents that are gentle on beneficial organisms when selecting pesticides.The results will be discussed with fruit-growing experts in order to derive proposals for the development of practical strategies and to identify necessary measures in order to prepare an attractive offer for practice and advice. The use of chemical pesticides can possibly be reduced by protecting beneficial insects, which can reduce pests due to their way of life.The protection and promotion of beneficial organisms as a “buffer” against known or newly emerging pests must be increasingly integrated into the resilience strategy of the cultivation system in dessert apple growing. Although there are only a few pesticides available for organic fruit growing, there are many different indications. Practical knowledge of the side effects of pesticides on beneficial insects and their developmental stages (egg, larva, pupa, adult) in the respective indication is essential in order to promote natural pest regulation and to be able to use these to the maximum as an ecological service for the cultivation system. However, this information is currently only available to a limited extent and there is sometimes contradictory information depending on the data source. In order to use all the information available worldwide, it is necessary to compile the available data from various sources, such as the BVL labelling, the JKI's beneficial insect portal, the database of the International Organization of Biological Control (IOBC) and published literature. For this purpose, scientific research is carried out on the side effects of the plant protection products approved and frequently used in organic fruit growing on the most important beneficial insects (ladybugs, lacewings, predatory gall midges, hoverflies, flower bugs, soft bugs, earwigs, predatory mites, spiders), on parasitoids in general, specifically on the blood aphid wasp Aphelinus mali and important parasitoids of pod moths, penny moths and tree bugs. If information on other arthropod species is found (general search for “side effects”), these are also listed. From this, a tabular overview is created.Subsequently, the comparability of the data is checked, possible differences are analyzed and the practical relevance and technical processing of the results are evaluated. To this end, the individual sources/results are examined and evaluated with regard to their informative value and comparability as well as their suitability for use in application recommendations.Possible causes of differences in the presentation of results are analyzed and suggestions are developed as to how results can possibly be adapted to ensure comparability. This concerns, for example, the key figures of lethal and sublethal effects such as LR50, LD50, ER50 etc. or different units, e.g. of application rates such as LWA, L/ha or x% spray mixture.The results of the literature research that can be used in practice are compared with the experience gained from cultivation practice and examined for possible causes of differences. The assessment of the preliminary conclusions from the literature research in comparison to practical experience with advice and trial set-up in organic fruit growing will then be reviewed by a panel of experts. A workshop on this topic will be organized by the FÖKO in cooperation with the JKI. As a result, causes for the discrepancies between practical experience and literature will be identified and the basis for deriving recommendations for application, a possible user-friendly form of providing data for practical use and other tasks will be formulated. The literature overview will be presented in the JKI's beneficial insect portal (https://wissen.julius-kuehn.de/nuetzlingsinfo/), which will be expanded and adapted accordingly.
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity
